


Unconscious Coupling

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 16:19:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5212538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Now I have my 40s and this lifelong bachelor status thing.” Rafael took the scotch from the server’s hands and sipped it.  “I don’t mind it…its very Cary Grant.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unconscious Coupling

“Sergeant.” Rafael walked into Olivia’s office on a rainy Wednesday evening.

“Hey Counselor.” She looked up from her paperwork and smiled.

“I know this might sound strange but I need a favor.”

“What's going on?” Liv took her glasses off, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Rafael closed the door from the prying eyes and ears of her squad. He came over to her desk, sitting down in the chair across from her. How many times had they sat in there, talking about cases and any other thing that came to mind? Oftentimes they would go someplace more comfortable, usually with food and drinks. Work could be stressful and spirits helped. He took a deep breath, trying to drum up the courage to talk to her and have it come out exactly how he wanted it to. A near expert orator, Rafael failed at that so often with Olivia.

“Side bar?” Olivia asked, sensing his apprehension.

“Yeah.” Rafael nodded, seeming relieved at both the question and the answer. 

It wasn’t too chilly outside but it was raining. He had on his long wool coat and Olivia got her grey jacket from the rack on the other side of her desk. There was no need for two big umbrellas so she just grabbed one. When they walked out of the office together, Fin, Rollins, and Carisi all made it seem as if they were so into what they were doing.

“It’s after seven, order some food you guys.” Liv said. “Don’t get anything from the Chinese place off 10th…Dwyer thinks he got food poison from them.”

“It must have been bad then.” Fin said. “I watched Dwyer eat a Whooper that hadn’t been in a refrigerator in two days…in the summer. He said the radiation from the microwave would kill anything too dangerous. I guess he was right, he's still alive.”

“That’s absolutely disgusting.” Rafael tried and failed not to make a face.

“Cops have cast iron stomachs.” Rollins said. “Remember when Amaro left the Italian hoagie out overnight and then ate it for breakfast?”

“I sat with him.” Carisi said. “Just in case he passed out. You gotta be careful with temperature and mayonnaise.”

“Damn right.” Fin nodded.

“And on that lovely note, I'm going to get something to eat.” Barba said.

“We’ll be back in an hour or so.” Liv said.

“You're gonna eat a better dinner than us, aren’t you?” Amanda asked.

“Surely, Detective.” Rafael replied.

“I’ll be back.” Liv said, putting on her jacket as they walked to the elevator together. “Where are you taking me, Counselor?”

“That depends on what you're in the mood for. There’s soul food, seafood, sandwiches, and a little spot where all the men are required to wear ties.”

“What's the menu there?” Liv stepped onto the elevator with Rafael behind her.

“Expensive.”

“The wine list?”

“Extensive.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” She smiled.

“So are we drinking as if we’re not returning to the office or drinking like we are?” Rafael asked.

“I’ll tell you after I have my first glass of wine.”

***

The small restaurant was called The Blue Whale and it was actually one of Rafael’s favorites. There were probably about 60 tables there and usually one had to have reservations but he knew the host very well and he was able to get them a small window table so they could watch the rain fall. Rafael ordered scotch, Liv the Nero d’Avola, and they wanted the spicy grilled calamari appetizer as they perused the menu.

“I'm torn between the lobster, shrimp, and cheese stuffed shells or the penne with lobster and crab in spicy marinara.”

“They add just a bit of alfredo to the marinara to thicken it up.” Rafael sipped his drink. “It’s excellent.”

“I'm going to do eeny meeny miney moe but you can't watch me.” Liv said.

“Shall I cover my eyes?” 

“Yes, thank you.”

He did as she asked and Olivia chose which entrée she was having. Rafael uncovered his eyes, wanting to know which had won.

“The shells. But I think I'm going to ask for a sauce substitution. That sauce has me curious.”

“It’s amazing.” He said smiling.

“You wanted to ask me a favor.” Liv said, enjoying the calamari. There were three different kinds of sauces. She tried the spicy mayo dip first and liked it. The second time she went for the cheesy spinach dip. That wasn’t too bad either. No need to try the third; Liv had had cocktail sauce before.

“Yes, I do. I want you to know that turning down this favor will in no way affect our working relationship or our friendship.”

“It sounds important.”

Rafael was interrupted by the server’s arrival Liv ordered her meal and Rafael wanted a medium well New York strip steak with the baby crab cakes and roasted asparagus. He wasn’t ready for a scotch refill yet. Liv seemed fine with the wine in her glass.

“No more interruptions.” She said. “Just tell me what it is.”

“My mother is turning 69 in three weeks. Things have been hard since my Abuelita’s death and my siblings and I want to do something nice for her…something she’ll never forget. So we’re renting a house in The Hamptons for a long weekend and we’re just going to have a family celebration. It’ll be her kids, her favorite sister, a cousin or two, and the grandkids. The last time we were all together it was for tragedy. We want to get together for happy times.”

“That sounds wonderful. Is it a surprise?” Liv asked.

“Kind of. She knows about renting the house but she doesn’t know my sister is coming with her husband and two kids. She doesn’t know my Aunt Isabelle and Cousin Susanna will be there. She thinks it’s going to be low key and while it won't be a Diddy affair, we have some wonderful things planned.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“My mother can be very insistent when she wants something or believes in it. And she always knows better than her kids what's right. She's asked me to extend an invitation for you and Noah to join us.”

“What?”

“My mother has decided, entirely on her own I swear to you, that you and I are perfect for each other and that Noah is her new nieto. She wants him to meet his other cousins and learn Spanish while he's still young.” Rafael held up his hand. “I know, this is insane, but every time I try to tell her that we’re not…she doesn’t listen to me.”

“We’re not what, Counselor?”

“We’re not perfect for each other.” Rafael replied. “No offense.”

“I'm going to have to ask you to take that back. I feel a little offended.” Liv said.

“I'm sorry, you know I'd never be hurtful about it. It’s just that my mother gets ideas in her head and there is no bringing her down. I want her to have an amazing weekend and a great birthday but I worry if I can't produce you and Noah that it will disappoint her. I've disappointed her enough. And that has nothing to do with you; you shouldn’t have to carry my burden.”

“What woman in her right mind would turn down a three day weekend in The Hamptons, even slightly off season?” Liv asked.

“If you add in the Barba clan, most of them I'm sure.” Rafael said.

“I think I'm going to say yes. I'm not like most women, Counselor.” She winked.

“We’d have to share a bedroom. I needed to put that out there…no surprises. My sister and husband in one, my mother and aunt, my brother and his new girlfriend who he will probably marry and then divorce in theatrical fashion, and then the children all in one room doing as children do. Poor Susanna might have to sleep with the kids.”

“I would prefer Noah being in the room with us. He has his own room at home but he's still so little and…”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem. I know there are at least two cribs there.”

“Of course I’ll do it.” Liv drank the last of her wine and wanted a refill. 

She thought a white would probably go better with pasta and seafood through red was her favorite so she looked at the wine list. There were so many to choose from. To be such a tiny little place, Liv felt like she was in wine heaven. She settled on the Helfrich Pinot Gris, ordering a glass when the server arrived with their meals. 

They both looked so wonderful. Liv and Rafael had a little tradition going. When they ate together they would take a small sample from the other’s plate before beginning the meal. She tasted the crab cakes, with no breading, and they were amazing. He took a cut of the large shell, making sure he got a mixture of everything inside.

“Oh wow, that’s good.” He smiled. “If I was more of a pasta fan I would’ve ordered that.”

“Those crab cakes are delicious.”

“Some of the best in the city. Liv, I owe you for this.”

“No you don’t.” she shook her head. “I never take off work and it'll be an opportunity to get Noah out of the city. Speaking of that, I need to know the exact dates because CPS still has to approve travel since I'm a foster mom.”

“I sometimes forget that. It’s the first weekend in October.” Rafael said. “You don’t think it will be a problem do you?”

“No. Our home visits have been going really well. CPS can be a pain in the ass but Trevor puts on so much charm when they're there. I'm taking great care of Noah and they know it. They're still going to give me hell for some of the things I said when he was still in foster care but they would be hard pressed to find a reason to remove him from mine. The judge is 100% on my side.”

“And Trevor isn't charging you, is he?”

“No.” Liv shook her head. “He worked pro bono for Ellie and is doing the same for Noah. He technically works for the baby, not for me. He does a good job keeping CPS in their place though…I really owe him.”

“I'm just so happy that this is all coming together for you Liv.” Rafael said. “I didn’t know that you wanted to have a family even though I know how amazing you are with kids. So when this opportunity presented itself and you took it, I wasn’t sure what to think. You're an amazing mom.”

“Thank you so much. I want to say it isn’t easy but I don’t quite feel that way. Loving Noah, being his mom, comes naturally to me. Fitting in the mom stuff with the cop stuff and the sleeping and the trips to the grocery store, and kinda sometimes trying to have a life…that’s difficult.”

“I bet.” He cut into his steak. It was pink, just as he liked it. “I'm here for you if you ever need an extra hand. I'm good at grocery shopping.”

“That’s an interesting tidbit to have about you under my belt, Barba. So tell me more about your mother thinking we’re perfect for each other.”

“I'd rather not.” Rafael shook his head. “My mother is a wonderful woman but she is never wrong. She gets an idea in her head, it sticks there like glue.”

“What gave her this idea?” Liv asked. She sipped the Pinot Gris when the server returned with it. That was just the taste she was looking for. Rafael got another glass of scotch because nothing went better with steak than scotch.

“Liv, I…I don’t know. Maybe I do talk about you too much but we work together so closely and I find it much easier to talk to my mother about work than my personal life. My nonexistent personal life. So if you're the only person I’m really talking about she put two and two together and got macaroni. This is a Lucia Barba tradition. Plus she so desperately wants me to marry and have children.”

“I think a lot of mothers want that.”

“She has five grandchildren.” He sighed. “What woman needs anymore?”

“You’ve never taken anyone home? Never had that long term relationship that got your mom all excited?”

“I'm a workaholic. I'm not good with anything else.”

“I don’t believe that.” Liv shook her head. 

“I dated a girl in the 10th grade, you knew that. I dated a girl for a little while in college but that was my whore phase so I wasn’t really trying to do the long term thing. I had a lover in law school, whom my mother knows nothing about. I was in a relationship with Trevor and then had a string of very short dating when my heart wasn’t in it and I shouldn’t have been scenarios after I came back to New York. Now I have my 40s and this lifelong bachelor status thing.” Rafael took the scotch from the server’s hands and sipped it. “I don’t mind it…its very Cary Grant.”

“Cary Grant was married five times, Barba.”

“Let me have my thing, OK?”

“OK.” Liv nodded. “Well Noah and I would be happy to accompany you to The Hamptons and spend a long weekend with the Barba clan.”

“I should put your name up for sainthood.” He said.

“There already is a St. Olivia.” She smiled. “St. Benson might be good though. I can be the patron saint of harried mothers.”

“Look Liv, I should warn you…my mother thinks I'm hiding our relationship from her and there could be some interrogation on her end. I know it’s not fair to put you in the middle of that but she stopped listening to me months ago. I know some of this is her grief, she misses her mother and needs something to focus on and she has chosen her wayward son. That has nothing to do with you though. You're walking into a bit of a firestorm.”

“Are you trying to talk me out of going?” Liv asked.

“No! I need you to go, for the sake of what’s left of my sanity. I just need to be honest.”

“I'm a cop. I can dish out and handle interrogations. I've only met your mother twice but I know she's not going to interrogate me. She's going to try to bring me into the family. She will try to convince me that if I don’t already love you that I should. It’s best for me and its best for you.”

“Oh God.” Rafael put his hand over his face. “That’s worse than an interrogation.”

“Stop worrying.”

“Yes, because telling me so will make it so. That works just about never.”

“Focus on what you're going to get your mother for her big day and what you're going to pack for the trip and the court case I'm sure you need to work on your opening for. I can handle things on this end.”

“That statement worries me.” He said.

“I'm sure it does. But do you trust me?”

“Yes.” Rafael nodded. He meant that and it was important. There weren't a lot of people he trusted because people let you down. Sometimes they didn’t even mean to when they did.

“Then breathe, Rafael Barba. Sit, drink, smile.”

“Oh cute.” He smirked. “Using my own words against me. Olivia, I really appreciate this and I’ll find a way to pay back your kindness.”

“I enjoy overpriced wine, nights off, massages, and road trips.” She said.

“So noted.”

They enjoyed the rest of their dinner talking about anything other than the favor Rafael had asked. Liv decided that dessert was a good idea and Rafael had coffee. She needed to get back to the precinct; she was working until at least nine tonight. The ADA was going home, though he wouldn’t delude himself into thinking that he wouldn’t do work there. 

“You didn’t have to pay for dinner.” Liv said as they walked back to the 16th Precinct.

“I didn’t mind. I owe you much more.”

“You don’t owe me anything. I'm serious, OK? We’re friends and friends help each other when they need it. You don’t have to be in an unending debt cycle to me.”

“OK.” Rafael nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Olivia smiled. There were tons of cops and other people coming and going. Even doing something so much as hugging the ADA would’ve been cause for people to start talking. She didn’t want anyone talking. 

Her personal business was her own and Olivia didn’t want who she kept company with outside of work being a source of gossip. She turned to look at the ADA, gently cupping his cheek in her hand. “Take the umbrella, alright. I have another one upstairs.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. Goodnight, Counselor.”

“Goodnight, Sergeant.”

Rafael watched her walk through the door and then he started down the street. He wasn’t sure if he would have the courage to ask Olivia to help him out of this bind but he did. And of course she said yes; that’s the kind of woman she was. The odds were high that his mother would embarrass him countless times over the long weekend. 

Rafael was sure that Olivia would handle it with grace. He wasn’t sure if he could. Still he smiled as he headed home that evening. Somehow this was going to work out and they would all emerge mostly unscathed. Rafael didn’t have that faith in himself where his family was concerned, but he had it in Olivia Benson.

***


End file.
